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Manti Te'o: Woman whose photo was used in hoax claims identity theft

January 21, 2013 | 5:35
pm

A woman whose photo was used in
what has been described as an elaborate hoax involving Notre Dame star
linebacker Manti Te'o told a friend her identity was stolen.

A Deadspin.com report
Wednesday linked a Palmdale man to the incident that fooled media outlets
across the nation. The man allegedly was involved in creating a fake
Twitter account for a woman who never existed and linked her with the
Heisman Trophy runner-up, who spoke repeatedly to the media about her, her illness and supposed death.

The extent of the woman's connection to the hoax -- and whether she was a
participant or if someone was using her photo -- remains unclear.

The woman has declined to comment to reporters who have sought interviews. Friends say she lives in Palmdale and attended Cal State Long Beach.

The woman's former boss, Diane Merrick, said she can't believe her employee was part of any prank.

“I would get on a stack of Bibles and
vouch for her,” said Merrick, who owns a clothing store on
Beverly Boulevard. “She was always on time. She had the most
fabulous energy. She was
one of those incredible people that you just wish you had for the rest of your
life."

“She’s not that type of person,” added former neighbor Joanne Shaw.

Merrick said the woman reached
out to her by email last week and asked if Merrick knew of an attorney who
could help. Someone had stolen her identity, the woman had said.

“Now all this stuff is happening -- and
it’s so bizarre to me,” Merrick said. “I’ve been in business 42 years. I’ve had
some creepy employees, and I’ve had some employees that are really fabulous.
And she’s one of the most fabulous.

One relative of the man linked to the hoax told the Long Beach Press-Telegram on Thursday that the ordeal has been a "nightmare" and said he didn't believe that his relative would perpetrate such a ruse.

"This is all still new to me," Ed Lalau told the newspaper. "I just pray
that we get over this. It's been a nightmare for everyone."

The suspected hoaxer's father posted a message on Facebook in which he spoke about the frenzy of media attention.

"I know so much has been splattered all over the media about my son
& my family. I also know that many who were born in a manger in
Bethlehem & continue to walk on water will undoubtedly express their
opinions," he wrote. "Those of you who know us the best still love us
the most. It my hope & prayer that we allow the truth to take its
course, wherever that may lead."

He described Te'o as "an amazing role model for our youth and Samoan community."

That man's family was asking for privacy. A woman who answered the door
at their house smiled and said, "No thank you, no comment" to a Times reporter
who identified himself.

"I would appreciate if you gave us some privacy, please," she said.

On Dec. 26, Te'o told Notre Dame officials that the woman, linked to him as his girlfriend, did not
exist and that he was a victim of an elaborate Internet hoax, the school
said Wednesday.

"In many ways, Manti was the perfect mark," Notre Dame Athletic
Director Jack Swarbrick said, "because he is a guy who is so willing to
believe in others and so ready to help, that as this hoax played out in a
way that called upon those tendencies of Manti, it roped him more and
more into the trap."

Swarbrick outlined a bizarre story in which Te'o learned, more than
three months after her reported death, that his "girlfriend" never
existed. The player received a phone call Dec. 6, while at an awards
show, from what he believed was the old cellphone number of the supposed
girlfriend, Lennay Kekua. The woman on the other end -- in a voice he
recognized as Kekua's -- told him that she wasn't dead. She later tried
to rekindle the relationship, Swarbrick said.

"Every single thing about this, until that day in the first week of
December, was real to Manti," Swarbrick said. "There was no suspicion it
wasn't. No belief it might not be. The pain was real. The grief was
real. The affection was real. That's the nature of this sad, cruel
game."

Swarbrick likened the hoax to the movie "Catfish," in which a person
creates a fake persona with someone else's picture and then dupes
another person into a romantic relationship. The film spurred a popular
MTV show by the same name that investigates online relationships to see
if the participants are real.

Te'o notified his coaches of the situation after discussing it with
his parents over the Christmas break. Swarbrick said he met with the
player twice and found his story about the exclusively
online-and-telephone relationship to be consistent. Te'o and Kekua never
met face
to face, Swarbrick said.